Natural gas, found in deposits in the earth, is an abundant energy resource. For example, natural gas commonly serves as a fuel for heating, cooking, and power generation, among other things. The process of obtaining natural gas from an earth formation typically includes drilling a well into the formation. Wells that provide natural gas are often remote from locations with a demand for the consumption of the natural gas.
Thus, natural gas is conventionally transported large distances from the wellhead to commercial destinations in pipelines. This transportation presents technological challenges due in part to the large volume occupied by a gas. Because the volume of a gas is so much greater than the volume of a liquid containing the same number of gas molecules, the process of transporting natural gas typically includes chilling and/or pressurizing the natural gas in order to liquefy it. However, this contributes to the final cost of the natural gas. Further, naturally occurring sources of crude oil used for liquid fuels such as gasoline and middle distillates have been decreasing and supplies are not expected to meet demand in the coming years. Middle distillates typically include heating oil, jet fuel, diesel fuel, and kerosene. Fuels that are liquid under standard atmospheric conditions have the advantage that in addition to their value, they can be transported more easily in a pipeline than natural gas.
Thus, for all of the above-described reasons, there has been interest in developing technologies for converting natural gas to more readily transportable liquid fuels, i.e. to fuels that are liquid at standard temperatures and pressures. One method for converting natural gas to liquid fuels involves two sequential chemical transformations. In the first transformation, natural gas or methane, the major chemical component of natural gas, is reacted with oxygen or with oxygen and steam to form syngas, which is a combination of carbon monoxide gas and hydrogen gas. In the second transformation, known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, carbon monoxide is reacted with hydrogen to form organic molecules containing carbon and hydrogen. Those organic molecules containing only carbon and hydrogen are known as hydrocarbons. In addition, other organic molecules containing oxygen in addition to carbon and hydrogen known as oxygenates may be formed during the Fischer-Tropsch process. Hydrocarbons having carbons linked in a straight chain are known as aliphatic hydrocarbons that may include paraffins and/or olefins. Paraffins are particularly desirable as the basis of synthetic diesel fuel.
Typically the Fischer-Tropsch product stream contains hydrocarbons having a range of numbers of carbon atoms, and thus having a range of molecular weights. Thus, the Fischer-Tropsch products produced by conversion of natural gas commonly contains a range of hydrocarbons including gases, liquids and waxes. Depending on the molecular weight product distribution, different Fischer-Tropsch product mixtures are ideally suited to different uses. For example, Fischer-Tropsch product mixtures containing liquids may be processed to yield gasoline, as well as heavier middle distillates. Hydrocarbon waxes may be subjected to additional processing steps for conversion to liquid and/or gaseous hydrocarbons. Thus, in the production of a Fischer-Tropsch product stream for processing to a fuel it is desirable obtain primarily hydrocarbons that are liquids and waxes (e.g. C5+ hydrocarbons).
Fischer-Tropsch reactions are generally carried out in gas agitated multiphase reactors. However, gas agitated multiphase reactors, including gas-solid, gas-liquid, and gas-liquid-solid reactor are widely used in chemical, petrochemical and biochemical processes. These types of gas agitated multiphase reactors often suffer from a high degree of backmixing. During backmixing, gas introduced into a reactor will tend to have a higher gas holdup and upward flow in the central region of the reactor while there is a lower gas holdup and a downward flow in the annular or outer region of the reactor. The degree of backmixing can affect many of the essential characteristics of the reactor and reaction including but not limited to conversion rates, productivity, mass transport capabilities, gas distribution and heat control.
In spite of recent developments, there remains a need for catalysts and processes that are more efficient, flexible, cost effective and/or productive for obtaining desirable hydrocarbon products. The present invention is an improvement toward fulfilling one or more those needs.